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The death of the championship course
The death of the championship course
It’s fair to ask if design has moved too far in the direction of playability
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When will we finally know if LIV Golf 2.0 is happening?

That question has been on the tip of every golf fan's tongue since the league announced its financing partnership with BC Partners and revealed plans for its post-PIF era late this summer. Originally, the deadline for LIV players to commit to the league's next iteration was Oct. 13, but the league extended the deadline by two weeks around the same time attorneys for Jon Rahm revealed their client's intention to leave last week.

With several other big-name players having already confirmed their departures, many in golf have been left wondering not only what is going to happen, but when. According to LIV counsel at the league's latest bankruptcy hearing on Wednesday, the answer is very soon.

Sources tell Golf Digest the deadline for players to commit to LIV 2.0 is now Oct. 25. Per Wednesday's estimate, that would give LIV Golf and BC Partners just under a week to determine if the roster at their disposal is enough to support the new majority player-owned venture (the league is seeking 52.5% player equity). Needless to say, for CEO Scott O'Neil and the small group of employees that remain at LIV, it could be a very scary Halloween indeed.

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Kai Trump's freshman college season has hit a major snag.

President Trump's oldest grandchild announced she underwent surgery on her left wrist following an injury she sustained while playing in her first collegiate event for the University of Miami in September. "It's certainly not how I envisioned the next few months, but sometimes the journey takes an unexpected turn," Trump wrote in a social media post, "and I'm choosing to embrace this one with patience, and a whole lot of determination." This also rules out the 19-year-old Trump from potentially returning for a second apperance on a sponsor's exemption for the LPGA's Annika event, where she made made her LPGA debut in the event last year.

Min Woo Lee fears his parents gave away 'millions of dollars' of this collectible.

The 28-year-old is a huge Pokémon fan, who recently shared a trip to PokéPark while in Japan for the Baycurrent Classic. 

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But ahead of the DP World India Championship, Lee revealed he was disappointed when he found out from his parents that the cards he collected as a kid were gone. "I called my mom and dad and said, where are those Pokemon cards we had?" Lee said. "They're like, oh, we gave it away. There goes millions of dollars." Ouch. Good thing Min Woo is doing very well with his day job.

Colt Knost checks in with the least surprising Scottie Scheffler story ever.

The former tour pro-turned CBS analyst never misses an opportunity to remind you he plays golf with current tour pros in his spare time. In fairness, he does get some solid material out of it. Like this story he told on his SiriusXM radio show involving the World No. 1, who made a kid's day, and possibly his life, in the middle of his own round:

Great stuff. Scottie is never beating the "very normal and down-to-earth guy" allegations (compliment). 

All work at East Potomac has come to a halt.

A day after she admonished lawyers for the Department of Interior and National Park Service for violating a court order regarding cutting down trees at the municipal golf course, U.S. district court judge Ana Reyes ordered all remaining efforts to be stopped at East Potomac. The move comes as Reyes considers a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s handling of the Washington D.C. property, as President Trump wants to remake the course to potentially host major championship golf. After originally ordering the government to get court approval before cutting down more than 10 trees, lawyers from the administration said at least 430 trees were removed over the weekend with little notice. Read about the ongoing fight in Golf Digest’s previous longform on the matter.

Korn Ferry is in the news for all the wrong reasons,

and no, we're not talking about the PGA Tour's developmental circuit, which Korn Ferry has been the sponsor of since June 2019. We're talking about the actual Korn Ferry brand, which golf fans likely never gave a second thought ... until now. Korn Ferry is the management consulting company that prepared a memo for the Las Vegas Raiders highlighting Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' strengths and weaknesses, and that memo became public on Tuesday as Flores remains in a legal battle with the NFL over alleged racial discrimination:

For a consulting firm like Korn Ferry, a full, detailed memo like this is standard procedure (Korn Ferry consulted on the PGA Tour's hiring of new CEO Brian Rolapp, too). But that doesn't make some of the bullet points in the memo any less controversial. This Flores vs. the NFL saga isn't going anywhere, and now the Korn Ferry brand has been thrust into the middle of it. And now golf fans know what the brand does, too. 

For the first time, Brooks Koepka will be teeing it up in the beloved PNC Championship.

And he’ll be joined by his father, Bob Koepka. The full field for the Dec. 17-20 event has yet to be announced, but the Koepkas will have some stiff competition, from defending champs Matt and Cameron Kuchar to six-time PNC Champion Bernhard Langer and his daughter Christina DeJong.

“I think it might be one of the most coveted invites in golf!” Koepka said in a press release. “It’s such a unique week where the competition is important, but also being out there with family and getting to share the experience with so many of the greatest players of our game.”

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David Cannon

Just a few weeks earlier, Koepka will be partaking in the Skins Game, making this quite the jam-packed silly season for the former LIV golfer. And for those keeping score, Brooks and Bob Koepka have combined for five major championships.

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There's one club you won't see in Rory McIlroy's bag this week ...

and it's a big one. On Wednesday at Delhi Golf Club, the site of this week's DP World India Championship, McIlroy told Nick Faldo that he's leaving his driver in the hotel. Instead, he will opt for his 5-wood and 2-iron as the longest clubs in his bag on the twisting, technical layout.

As one of the longest hitters of his generation, it's a notable omission for McIlroy, who even told Faldo he thinks it's possible to win this week at DGC with a bag full of irons. Fans in Delhi may be disappointed they won't see McIlroy unsheath his signature club this week, but if the strategy pays off and Rory finds himself in the winner's circle come week's end, something tells us no one will mind.

A PGA Tour winner's son has qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt.

Jeremiah Baddeley will follow his dad's footsteps to Augusta National in April when he competes in the 13th playing of the junior golf event ahead of the Masters. The younger Baddeley earned the top spot in the Boys 14-15 age group at the Los Angeles Country Club qualifier (h/t Golfweek). The older Baddeley won four PGA Tour titles and played in the Masters seven times.

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Ryan Sirius Sun
Tiger Woods looks like he's feeling pretty healthy.

It's been a long time since the 15-time major champ has teed it up in competition, but he didn't seem to be holding back on the range during a clinic for the TW Invitational at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

Pretty saucy stuff right there, especially that punched hook shot. Predicting Woods' playing schedule has become impossible of late, but after seeing that video you have to imagine he's at least thinking about teeing it up with his son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship in December.

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This has maybe happened ... never?

Texas junior Daniel Bennett shot six over par over his last four holes and still won the individual title in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate on Tuesday. That's how tough the conditions were in winds that gusted up to 25 mph. Bennett gave himself a huge lead by shooting 64 in Monday’s opening round on the Jubliee Course, and he needed much of it with a scorecard 11 shots higher in Round 2. Ranked 14th in the WAGR, Bennett finished with an even-par total, three shots better than teammate Matthew Comegys. The co-winners on the women’s side scored better than the men, with Texas’ Farah O’Keefe, the WAGR No. 1, and Washington’s Hannah Ounap tying with two-under totals.

The event features four teams total, and the true treat comes Wednesday, when team match play moves to the Old Course. In a cool matchup, Texas and the University of St. Andrews will take on each other on both the men’s and women’s side as the best scoring teams from the first 36 holes. In a thriller for the host men, St. Andrews beat Washington by a single stroke, 42 over to 43 over, to get into the championship match.

St. Andrews coach Ian Muir shared his team secrets with Golf Channel:

All 50 states on board by 2033.

That was the goal of the U.S. National Development Program when it launched its state junior team initiative in January 2024. But the chance to create hundreds more opportunities to spotlight talented 13- to 18-year-old boys and girls nationwide was too good to pass up, allied golf associations around the country quickly committing to the idea. In August, Heather Daly-Donofrio, managing director of the USNDP, told Golf Digest the timeline was now the end of 2029 for every state to have a team up and running. On Tuesday, the USGA announced that the goal would be reached officially by the end of 2027, with remaining 20 states committing to identify teams by the end of next year.

“When we launched the State Junior Team Program, the vision was to create meaningful development opportunities for young athletes across the country,” Daly-Donofrio said in the press release. “Having all 50 states committed to the program brings that vision to life and gives us the foundation for a truly national pathway. Most importantly, it will allow more young golfers to access the resources, coaching and competitive opportunities that can help them reach their full potential.”

The rapid expansion of the broken was no doubt aided by a $1.5 million commitment to the program over three years from Augusta National and the Masters Tournament Charities. But the early success of states in creating teams helped build rapid momentum.

For a more in-depth look at the state junior team, check out this feature I wrote about the program this summer.

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They had the usual Scottish wind on Tuesday for the St. Andrews Links Collegiate.

With gusts of up to 25 mph, we’d consider it to be close to howling here at home, but just another breezy day on the North Sea. At least it was sunny.

Tough conditions, to be sure, but the wind produced a memorable moment for Penn senior Madelein Zang. Thankfully, Golf Channel’s coverage was there to capture it. She had a bogey putt of only a few feet on the St. Andrews’ Jubliee Course and missed it right, less than a foot past the cup. As Zang moved to tap in for double, a gust came up and—voila!— it pushed the ball into the hole. Zang had a fun reaction, grabbing her beanie-clad head in surprise, and her playing partners raised their hands in celebration for her.

Miura and Steph Curry have teamed up on a limited-edition iron set, and it’s yet another reminder of Curry’s well-documented golf obsession.

The Miura x Curry irons are a combo set: TC-202 cavity backs (4-6) and MB-101 blades (7-PW). Every head gets Miura’s black QPQ finish.

The details are where this custom set gets fun. The 6-iron is a degree weaker than standard at 30 degrees, matching Curry’s jersey number, and the sole reads “30” instead of “6.” The ferrules feature four rings, one for each NBA title. The hosel carries the motivational line Curry writes on his sneakers—"I can do all things." Even the Dynamic Gold Tour Issue shafts come in a custom SC30 flex.

A portion of the sales goes to Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour, which creates opportunities for juniors from underrepresented communities and for girls in the game. Thirty of the 300 sets come with a certificate of authenticity that Curry actually signed. Good luck landing one when they drop.

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Rory McIlroy just debuted a new look in India.

We haven't seen much of Rory McIlroy following his second consecutive Masters victory this spring. McIlroy played just eight non-major events across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour between April and October, and now we know why:

He was working up the courage to wear these pants.

Relaxed, retro-modern silhouettes are all the rage in golf right now. We've seen plenty of pros pull off the pleated, wide-leg slack with apolmb, but for every Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Day or Keith Mitchell there's, well, a Rory McIlory.

We don't want to drag McIlroy too hard, though. It's OK to try new things, and if he's comfortable in the them, that's all that really matters. But with McIlory's more compact frame, perhaps he would be better off taking a page out of the Adam Scott stylebook:

Not too loose, not too light, just right.